Method of cooling metal plates



(No Model.)

H. AIKEN.

METHOD OF COOLING METAL PLATES.

No. 369,154. Patented Aug. 30,1887.

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UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY AIKEN, OF HOMESTEAD, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF COOLING METAL PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,154, dated August30, 1887,

Application filed April 13, 1887. Serial No. 234,668. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, HENRY AIKEN, of Home stead, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovementin Methods of Cooling Metal Plates; and I do hereby declarethe following to be afull,clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the cooling of large metal plates, and isdesigned to prevent the warping, distortion, and'the weakening of thesame from internal strains caused by unequal cooling. It has been acommon custom heretofore to place these plates one on top of an other inpiles on the-floor of the rolling-mill or on cars as they come hot fromthe rolls, and to permit them to remain in such position until coolenough to be handled, when they were taken to the shears to be trimmed.As they are not rolled to a uniform size, but vary greatly indimensions, the edges of some of the plates in the piles will extendbeyond the edges of others, so that the center of the pile is built upsolidly of hot plates, while the projecting edges of the larger platesare exposed more or less to contact with the atmosphere, which can gainno access to the middle portions of such plates. The result is that theycool unequally and the edges become warped and distorted, and internalstrains are produced which tend to weaken the plates and injure theirquality. Such plates also require more shearing on this account,whichproduces a larger percentage of waste. When the plates are 'placedsingly on the floor to cool, they are also liable to warp and buckle,owing to the fact that the air cannot obtain free access to the underside.

My invention is designed to obviate all of these difticulties; and toenable others skilled in the art to practice it, I will now describe itby reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1 and 2show a plan view of a platemill, a cooling-table, and the shears; andFig. 3 is a sideelevation of a portion of the cooling-table and shows amethod of driving the rollers of the same.

The rolling-mill a is of a usual construction for rolling plates, and isprovided with roller feed-tables b c, for carrying the heavy piece toand from the rolls. As these parts. have no relation to my invention, itis not necessary to describe them more particularly.

Extending from a point adjacent to the feedtable 0, upon which the plateis delivered after its last pass, and preferably in line with saidtable, is a roller table, d, of considerable length, terminating,preferably, at or near the shears e. The rollers f of the table (I aredriven by power in any known or desired way. In the table I now have inuse they are driven as follows, viz: On one end of each roller there isa pinion, 9, Fig.- 3, and these pinions are connected by intermediatepinions or idlers, 71,

one of which is placed between every two pinions, 9. At suitableintervals a counter-shaft, i, is journaled in the sides of the tablebelow one of the rollers f, and this shaft is provided with a smallpinion, k, which gears into the pinion g of that roller, and on itsouter end with a beveled pinion or gear-wheel, m. A power shaft orshafts, a, driven by any suitable engine, (indicated at 0, Fig. 2,)extends along the side of the table, and is provided with beveledpinions p, which engage the gear-wheels The rollers f are thereforedriven by the shaft or shafts a through the medium of the pinions p,gear-wheels m, pinions k, pinions g, and idlers h. Suitablereversing-gear may be used for the purpose of driving the rollersfineither direction, as will be understood. It is sometimes convenient aswell as economical to drive some of the rollersf adjacent to thefeed-table c by power from the shaft q, by which the rollers of thefeed-tables are driven. I do this by extending the first counter-shaftz' of the table (I and the shaft (1 until they meet, and then connectingthem by beveled gearing 1", as in Fig. 1. This shaft t has the pinion k,which gears into a pinion, g, on one of the rollers,which roller drivesthe adjacent rollers by means of idlers h, as shown in Fig. 3.

\Vith a construction such as I have just described my improved method ofcooling the plates is practiced in the following manner, viz: The plate,which usually leaves the rolls at a dull-red heat,is conveyed by therollers of the feed-table c to and delivered on the table d. The rollersf, being revolved at a slow speed, carry it slowly along the table tothe shears c. In its progress the plate is exposed to the air on allsides, and 'never being allowed to remain stationary it has noopportunity to bend or buckle by its own weight, even if at first hotenough to do so. The lines of impingement upon the rollers areconstantly changing, and at most occupy but a small portion of the undersurface, so that the under side of the plate is for all practicalpurposes as much exposed to the cooling influences of the air as theupper side. The result is that the plate cools uniformly on all sides,and the tendency to warp, buckle, and set up internal strains isobviated. If the plate is not sufficiently cooled when the end of thetable is rcachcd,the rollers may be reversed, and thus the plate becarried back and forth until sufficiently cooled. If the rolling iscontinued in the meanwhile, this reverse motion may be kept up untilanother plate comes from the rolls, and then the forward movement may beresumed to receive the new plate. Usually there are a number of plateson the table at a time, and there is asufficient intermission betweenthe deliveries of the plates from the rolls to allow of considerablereverse travel, if necessary. In Fig. 3 I show a plate, 8, travelingover the table.

It is not necessary that the table d should connect with the feed-tablec. It may be at another place and the plates be conveyed to it by anysuitable means; nor is it necessary that it should lead to the shears;but the economy and convenience of such an arrangement is obvious.

Practical experience has demonstrated that my invention preventsbuckling and warping and renders less trimming necessary.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The method of cooling metal plates herein described, which consists inconveying them singly through the atmosphere upon moving surfaces, wherethey are exposed to the atmosphere on all sides and the points ofsupport are constantly changing, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of April,A. D. 1887. HENRY AIKEN. \Vitnesses:

THOMAS E. KERR, W. B. OoRwIN.

